Malachai Marzolf
This series looks at the four poems written by the 19th century French poet Charles Baudelaire from the collection Les Fleurs du Mal. Baudelaire’s work was often described as vulgar and erotic, one of the many reasons selections of his poetry was banned. These four poems are part of the banned collection, and have been brought to life through visual narratives. Everyone learns differently, and a lot of people are visual learners which makes reading and interpreting things like poetry difficult and even frustrating. By creating a visual language to tell the story of the poems, it gives just enough information for the audience to comprehend imagery and tone, while still giving them room to create their own interpretations. There is nothing worse than being told what something means, and this gives the audience an opportunity to have a guiding hand to understand the poetry and still formulate their own thoughts on the work. Prohibited Poetry ties together the concept of censorship and one’s ability to generate their own ideas. When censoring work, it gets a taboo label assigned before one even gets the chance to read it. What I’m accomplishing is giving the readers the poems, letting them experience them, and then be the judge. Everyone takes different meanings away from poetry, and I want to let others formulate their own meaning. While Baudelaire’s poems may seem vulgar, yet it is impossible to deny the beauty in every line. Everyone has a right to experience poetry raw before given ideas forced into their minds. I want to allow people to see beauty in the grotesque, and not turn away because someone told them to.
